Reckitt Benckiser launches UK float for drugs treatment unit

The maker of Nurofen and Strepsils will float its drug addiction treatment business on the London Stock Exchange before Christmas to create a company that could be worth more than £2.5 billion.

Reckitt Benckiser, which also owns Cillit Bang and Durex, launched the planned listing today, saying the new firm — named Indivior — will start trading on December 23 if share-holders approve the spin-off on December 11. Investors will get one Indivior share for every RB share they own.

The company announced in the summer it would float the division, whose main business is heroin substitute treatment Suboxone, after failing to find a trade buyer willing to pay the right price.

The division has been valued well in excess of £2.5 billion by some analysts but its value will be determined by the appetite of RB’s existing shareholders and new investors.

Indivior will have annual sales of $1.2 billion with 80% of revenue coming from the US where it has a 60% market share with its film version of Suboxone. It has been run since 2003 by Shaun Thaxte, who stays.

RB said the spin-off will let chief executive Rakesh Kapoor focus on his strategy to make the firm a “global leader” in health products.